Focaccia and a Wedding in Camogli, Italy

Posted on July 13, 2017

Just a short train ride away from Genoa lie the most beautiful little fishing villages and coastal towns one can explore in Italy. A trip along the coast will leave you speechless many times over. Most will visit only a very small portion of coastline, the famous Cinque Terre. This post, however, serves as a little reminder that the area hosts a lot more stunning places.

Those who know me are aware that in the second half of 2011 I was living la bella vita in the Metropolitan City of Genova, studying political science as well as translating & interpreting. When I wasn’t busy cramming for my exams at the Università degli studi di Genova and when TrenItalia wasn’t on strike, I was either having aperitivo with my friends or exploring the beautiful Ligurian coastline up and down. It was an experience, to say the least. Back then, I also made it to Camogli a couple of times and fell in love with the place over and over again.

Some facts for the geography lovers: Genoa is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and also the center of the Italien Riviera. Italians call it la riviera ligure which, pronounced by an Italian, will be a melody in your ears. North of Genoa you will find la riviera di ponente (the coast of the setting sun) and south of Genoa you will find la riviera di levante (the coast of the rising sun). This is what I love about Italy, everything always has so much meaning. The region can be reached easily by train from Milan, which is also the cheapest way to discover the area. Car rentals in Italy might be cheap but you will quickly accumulate tolls by traveling on the autostrada. This being said, I would also like to warn you that you will spend a lot more money on food.

Six years later, together with Y, I returned to this sleepy little fishing village to celebrate the love of two good friends. Y and I splurged and stayed at the beautiful Hotel Cenobio dei Dogi, where both the wedding ceremony and reception were held. It gave us the chance to rediscover the town in the short time we had there. We also did some people watching and a lot of focaccia eating. And I have come to realize that time truly stands still in these small Italian villages. Nothing changed. Everything was right where I remembered it being.

The wedding itself was beautiful. Loving words from family and friends of the couple were accompanied by the sound of clashing waves and the views of pastel colored houses. An international couple we can certainly relate to: she is from a small town in North Carolina, he is from (also a small town in) Belgium, they met in South Africa, fell in love, and made it work through the distance. Now they live their happily ever after in Switzerland.

Cheers to the newlyweds!

After all this, I also realized something important for me: It was in my semester abroad in Genoa that I really started experimenting with photography. It’s not surprising that Italy, with its picturesque scenery and photogenic people, might turn one into a photographer. At least, that is what Italy did to me. I hope you love my photos from our trip as much as I do. The photos from our recent trip certainly look better than the ones from over six years ago. Comparing them I can really see how much I have improved in both technique and style.